notes on hillers' photographs of

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOLUME

98.

NUMBER

18

NOTES ON HILLERS' PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PAIUTE AND UTE INDIANS TAKEN

ON THE POWELL EXPEDITION OF 1873

(With

31 Plates)

BY

JULIAN H.

STEWARD

Bureau ofAmerican Ethnologw Smithsonian Institution

(Publication 3543)

CITY

OF WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED

BY THE SMITHSONIAN

INSTITUTION

JULY

21, 1939

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOLUME

98,

NUMBER

18

NOTES ON HILLERS' PHOTOGRAPHS _OF THE PAIUTE AND UTE INDIANS TAKEN

ON THE POWELL EXPEDITION OF ¹⁸⁷³

(With

31 Plates)

BY

JULIAN H.

STEWARD

BureauofAmerican Ethnology Smithsonian Institution

it

m

^\m

^Publication 3543)

CITY

OF WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED

BY THE SMITHSONIAN

INSTITUTION

JULY

21, 1939

Z§&Uorb (§a(timon (puee

BALTIMORE, MD., 0.8. A.

NOTES ON HILLERS' PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PAIUTE AND UTE INDIANS TAKEN ON THE POWELL

EXPEDITION OF

1873

By JULIAN

H.

STEWARD

Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution

(With

31 Plates)

INTRODUCTION

When,

ⁱⁿ 1869,

Maj. John W.

Powell

made

his first exploration of the Colorado River, he encountered

Ute and

Southern Paiute Indians in the territory that is

now Utah

and northern Arizona.

Fascinated at finding

them

nearly untouched by civilization, he de- veloped a deep interest in ethnology

which

led to extensive field studies

and

evenultimatelytothefoundingof the

Bureau

of

American

Ethnology.

During

explorations, he took every opportunity to study their language, customs,

and

mythology, to collect specimens of their utensils, dress,

and

handicraft,

and

to procure photographs.

Few

explorers in the United States have

had

a comparable oppor- tunity to study

and

photograph Indians so nearly in their aboriginal state.

The

Ute, to be sure,

had

probably experienced something of a cultural revolution

when

they acquired the horse

from

the Spaniards

in the Southwest long before thefirstwhite

man

visited their country.

They were

already hunters

and

warriors, in

many

respects resembling the tribes of the Great Plains,

when

Escalante passed through

Utah

in 1776. After the 1820's,

when

fur trappers began to penetrate their territory, the

Ute

acquired a

few guns and

other trade objects, but

were

little affected by their casual contacts with the white

men.

The

Southern Paiute, meanwhile, living in the

more

arid country to the south

and

west, remained, without horses or guns, entirely in theiraboriginal state. In 1847 ^tne

Mormon

pioneers arrivedat Great Salt

Lake and

within a

few

years planted settlements throughout

much

of the desert.

The

Ute resisted this settlement, especially in western Utah,

and

warfare began, reaching aclimax about 1865.

The Ute were

subdued, however,

by

1870,

and many

of

them moved

to the reservation

which

had been founded in the territory of one of their bands, the Uintah Ute, in northeastern Utah.

There were

thus

Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 98,No. ¹⁸

2

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98 Ute from many

localities in this region

when

Powell first passed through it in 1869.

They

had, however, been in close contact with the white

man

foronly 20years

and had

not losttheir nativecustoms.

Mormon

settlement of Southern Paiute territory affected native life in varying degrees. In the vicinity of St.

George and Kanab,

in

southern Utah, the Paiute

were

too poor

and

unorganized to offer effective resistance to settlement.

They

lingered in their original habitat in the vicinity of the

newly founded Mormon

villages and, as the destruction of their native foods by cattle, sheep,

and

farming

made

life difficult, they gradually attached themselves to these

com-

munities.

The

early 1870's, however,

found

their native culture still little affected by these contacts.

Most

isolated of all

were

the Paiute on the

Kaibab

plateau north of the

Grand Canyon

in Arizona. In 1869

many

of

them had

scarcely seen a white

man

and,

beyond

a

few

objects

which

they traded or stole

from

the white

man,

they

were

quite untouched by civilization.

When

first visiting this

group

in September, 1869, Powell^* wrote, "Altogether, these Indians are

more

nearly in their primitive condition than

any

others on the continent with

whom

I

am

acquainted.

They

have never received anything

from

the

Government, and

are toopoor to tempt the trader,

and

their country is so nearly inaccessible that the white

man

never

visits them." Fortunately,

most

of Powell's notes, collections, and photographs

come from

these people.

None

of the results of Powell's ethnographic

work

have been published in systematic form. Brief remarks on language, customs,

and mythology

are

found

in

many

of his writings,

and

considerable remains scattered through unpublished manuscripts.

The

latter con- tain

much

that is of value, but the task of culling the ethnographic data

from

other miscellaneous material, of ascertaining the identity of Indians mentioned,

and

of eliminating repetitious notes is formi- dable. Powell's extraordinarily fine collection of

Ute and

Paiute specimens in the United States National

Museum

is largely

unknown

tothescientificworld.

But

properly to describe

and

^illustrateit

would

require

enormous work and

expense and

would

be handicapped by the inadequate data

accompanying

it. Like

most

collections

made

during that period, a catalog entry like

"Ute"

or

"Pah Ute" was deemed

sufficient to indicate the source of a specimen.

The most

valuable ethnographic resultof Powell's explorations are the photographs.

On

his second descent of the Colorado River in

1Powell, John W., Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its tributaries, p. 126. Washington, 1875.

NO. l8

HILLERS-POWELL INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHS STEWARD

₃

1871, he

was accompanied by John K.

^{Hillers. Hillers}

began

as a general assistant but quickly mastered

photography

and remained with Powell during his explorations of the next

few

years

making

photographs of all types of subjects.

His

pictures are on glass nega-

tives, each having

two

exposures

4 by

5 inches suitable for stere- opticons. In spite of the

cumbersome equipment and

the difficulties of preparing

and

developing negatives in the field,

most

of these pictures are every bit as

good

as

modern

professional photography

and

put to

shame

the efforts of

most

ethnologists.

Unlike the collections of specimens

and

ethnographic notes, the photographs are carefully cataloged as to locality, leaving

no

doubt about

which

Indian groups are represented.

The

catalog does not indicate, however, precisely

when

or under

what

circumstances the pictures

were

taken.

The

date

on

all is 1873, but^{it is} entirely possible that

many were

taken earlier, perhaps starting with the Colorado River trip of 1871.

Presumably

they

were

taken duringthe

summer when

the type of house, clothing,

and

other features of native life

would

have been

somewhat

adapted to the

warm

weather

and

to the

nomadic

life necessary

when

gathering seeds.

The

present collection includes all of the Hillers photographs that have ethnographic value.

A number

of these

were

reproduced as steel engravings in

some

of the publications

by

Powell,

Mason, and

other persons, but are included here not only for the sake of

com-

pleteness but to bring out detail not obtainable in the engravings

and

to call attention to features of ethnographic interest.

A few

photo- graphs have been ^eliminated either because of the poor quality of thenegatives or becausethey are virtuallyduplicates of those included.

It

had

been

hoped

that a description of the

museum

specimens,

which

include

many

objects similartothose

shown

inthe photographs, might

accompany

these pictures. In view, however, of the dubious provenience of

many

of the specimens

and

of the

magnitude

of the task of describing them, the

museum

study

must

be postponed.

Identification of the objects illustrated in the photographs

may

be

made

with reasonable certainty. Until very recent years, the

Ute and

Southern Paiute

and

the very similar Shoshoni

and Northern

Paiute, all occupying the deserts

between

the

Rocky Mountains and

California,

had

been virtually ignored by ethnologists.

Although

de- tailed

monographs

by several field workers are

now

in course of preparation for publication, Lowie's pioneering study of thesetribes²

2Lowie, Robert H., Notes on Shoshonean ethnography. Amer. Mus. Nat.

Hist.,Anthrop. Papers,20, pt. 3,pp. 187-314, 1924.

4 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98

remains the outstanding source on the

Ute and

Southern Paiute. It is possible, however, by using Lowie's

monograph

together with

monographs

on tribes farther west, shorter accounts of these tribes by explorers

and

ethnologists,³

and

the writer's

own

experience in the area, to interpret

most

of the photographs in terms of their cultural significance

and

to add

some

comparative notes.

Beforethe settlementof the west, agreat difference existedbetween the

Ute and

Southern Paiute, the

two main

groups represented in these photographs.

The

^former

were

essentially horsemen, bison hunters,

and

warriors.

For many

years they

had

been traveling east to hunt bison in the Great Plains.

Warfare

with tribes in that area had given

them

a militaristic spirit. Cultural contacts

had

introduced

many

conspicuous Plains traits, such as tipis, use of rawhide, horse regalia,

war

equipment,

and many

others.

The

Southern Paiute,

more

isolated in their deserts

and

lacking horses, resembled the

Western

Shoshoni

and Northern

Paiute,

who

lived in the Great Basin of

Nevada and

adjoining parts of California,

Oregon, and

Idaho.

They

relied mainly

upon

wild seeds

and

roots

which

they collected by

means

of a highly developed basketry

com-

plex.

Large-game

hunting

was

of secondary importance, though the great

number

of buckskin

garments shown

in the photographs sug- gests that it

was

not so unimportant as often believed.

The

Paiute's general poverty

and

the

seminomadic

existence required during the great part of the year by their simple hunting

and

gathering

economy

limited their material possessions.

The

photographs

show

them, probably

most

often at their temporary

summer encampments,

with their

meager

equipment.

Caution, however, is necessary in interpreting the pictures.

Not

only are

many

of the Indians obviously posed in artificial stances, but art seemsoften to have outweighed realism in the selection of objects represented. Thus, a

woman

ⁱⁿ semidress

may

indicate Powell's

and

Hillers' idea of photographic art rather than actual use of garments.

Poses with bows, baskets,

and

other objects

may

also misrepresent their actual use.

HABITATIONS

When

Indian informants describe customs

abandoned

one or

two

generations ago, they are likely to

remember

only salient features and thus give the impression that native practises

were more

stand

-

3The main sources to date are listed in the writer's study of the Shoshoni, Basin-Plateau aboriginal socio-political groups, Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 120,

1938.

NO. l8

HILLERS-POWELL INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHS STEWARD

₅

arclized than

was

actually the case.

These

photographs, taken

when

strictly aboriginal types of shelters still prevailed, correct such an impression

and

illustrate the great variability brought about by the adaptation of construction to various special conditions and circumstances.

The

photographs of the Southern Paiute, however,

were

evidently taken during the

warm

season

and

thus

throw

no light

on

the winter house.

Other

tribes of these desertsused shelterscomparable to these during the

summer,

but in winter,

when

they settled

down

near their stored foods to remain during the cold weather, they erected some-

what

sturdier

and

larger conical lodges.

During

the

summer,

such lodges

were

not only unnecessary but inappropriate.

The

subsistence routine required continual

movement from

one locality to another as different foods

became

available. Shelters were, therefore, no

more

than

temporary

structures designed only for the

few

days or

weeks

that

would

be spent at

any

food camp. Powell⁴ wrote of the

Kaibab

Paiute,

"During

the inclement season they live in shelters

made

of boughs, or bark of the cedar,

which

they strip off in long shreds. In this climate,

most

of the year is dry

and warm, and

during such time they do not care for shelter. Clearing a small, circular space of ground, they

bank

it

around

with brush

and

sand, and

wallow

in it

during the day,

and

huddle together in a heap at night,

men, women, and

children; buckskin, rags,

and

sand."

The ^extreme

^of simplicity in

Kaibab

shelters

was

to pitch

camp

beneath a tree, little or

no

effort being

made

to

improve upon

nature

(pis. ii, 12, 13, /?).

When

construction

was

undertaken, houses tended to be semiconical, erected either

upon

poles planted in the

ground

or

upon

interlocking poles (pi. 21, a, b) or almost completely conical (pi. 14, a).

House

poles

were

covered with various materials, no doubt those which

were

^locally available, such as

boughs

(pi.

9, a, b) and willows (pi. 10, /;).

One

house had a fire in the center

and

the roof

open

above (pi. 20, a).

The Ute had

acquired the tipi through contact with the Plains tribes.

Those shown

in the photographs (pis. 23, ^{0, b,} 24, ^a, 25) are

all undecorated.

That

in plate 24, ^a, was, accordingto the title of the picture,

made

of elkskin.

When

tipis could not be built or

when

they

were

unnecessary, a conical house, described by informants as similar to the brush house of the Paiute

and

Shoshoni,

was

used.

That shown

in plate 26, b, however, is larger

and

better constructed

4Op.cit., p. 126.

6

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98

than the Southern Paiute lodges, having longer, cleaner poles. It is, ii fact,

more

a tipi covered with

boughs and some

canvas in place of skin.

CAMP ACCESSORIES

If these photographs truly represent aboriginal practise, the use of the tripod extended far south in the Intermontane area.

The

Kaibab used it to suspend the cooking pot (pi. 13, b),

though

the pot in question is evidently of iron,

and

the

Uintah

used it not only for cooking (pi. 25) but as a support on

which

goods

were hung

(pi. 24, a,b).

The

backrest, consisting of a tripod supporting horizontal slats, is

shown

in a Uintah

Ute

lodge (pi. 26, b).

These Ute

also used horizontal bars for supporting dried maize (pi. 26, b).

Of

special interest is the tree platform (pi. 23, b)

and

the two- story construction (pi. 25). It is not-clear

whether

the title of the

first, "tree lookout" or "the

watch

tower," designates the pose of the boy on the platform or the purpose of the platform.

The

second structure, called "shelter," seems actually to have served as a shelter

and

storage place.

Note

the notched log

which

serves as a ladder.

BASKETRY

The

basketry of the groups represented here has an interesting placein western

American

basketry. It isgenerally believed thatboth the coiled

and

twined basket

weaves

originated at

some

place

on

the Pacific coast

and

spread inland, the

former

being invented first

and

attaining a wider distribution than the latter. Thus, only coiling

was known

tothe Basket

Makers,

the oldest

known

weavers in the South- west,

and

to the Ute,

who

are

on

the eastern fringe of the basket area.

West

of the Ute, however, tribesused both coiling

and

^twining.

The

latter, being

more

easily

made, was

used

by

Shoshoni

and Northern

Paiute for such utility baskets as conical seed baskets,

winnowing

trays, seed beaters, hats,

and

water jugs, whereas coil

was employed

only for the

somewhat more

ornamental trays

and

buwls.

A few

Shoshoni of central

Nevada

appear even to have

abandoned

coiling entirely in favor of twining.

The

photographs suggest that

among

Southern Paiute, both types of

weave were

used for all kinds of baskets except possibly hats.

Thus

^it

would

appear that strict cultural tradition did not entirely determine the

weave

used, but that the choice in each case depended

somewhat upon

individual or perhaps family taste.

The Kaibab

group shown

in plafe 11, forexample, coiled all their baskets

—

^conical

NO. l8

HILLERS-POWEIX INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHS STEWARD

_/

seed basket, water jug, circular trays,

and

receptacles

—

^{though other}

Kaibab

Indians used twining for

many

of these vessels.

The

Uintah

Ute

baskets in these photographs resemble those in a large collection at the University of Utah. All are coiled, being extremely crudely

made and

limited in range of forms.

A

problem

still tobe solved by anthropology is whether the

Ute

had, in prehorse days

when

they

depended more upon

seed gathering than

upon

hunt- ing, the full range of basketry

forms known

to the other

Shoshonean

tribes. It

seems

certain,

though

^it hasnotbeen proved, thattheradical change

wrought

in their

economy by

the introduction of the horse

would

have caused

them

to

abandon many

traits connected with seed gathering in favor of things pertaining to hunting.

Basketry

forms

are clearly

shown

inthephotographs.

They

include hats, conical seed or

burden

baskets, seed beaters,

winnowing

or parching trays, flat trays, water jugs or ollas,

and

receptacles or bowls. (Cradles,

though

often

made

with a basketry technique, are treated separately.)

The

distinction

between

twining

and

coiling is

usually clear, especially if the photograph is

examined

with a glass.

Illustrations of theuses of baskets arein

most

casesprobablyaccurate, though posing the subjects seems to have misrepresented a few.

The woman

ⁱⁿ plate i, c, for example, is gathering seeds in a basketry hat, a dubious procedure.

Hots.

—

^{Basketry hats,}

^which

^are widespread throughout the

West and

^on the Pacific coast, are

shown

in all groups here except the Uintah Ute. All hats appear to be twined.

Two somewhat

distinct, though similar,

forms

are illustrated.

One

is hemispherical, either with a

rounded

top, like the

Moapa

Paiute specimens (pi. i, c, 3, b)

and

the

Las Vegas

hat (the girl on the right, pi. 6, c) or with a pointed top, like the

Kaibab

specimens (pis. 10, b,

n,

15, b, 16, b)

.

The

^other

form

isa

somewhat

truncated cone, the

Las Vegas example

(pi. 6, b, c).

These

hats are either undecorated or bear one or

two

bands of geometric figures (pis. 1, c, 3, b, 6, b).

Among Shoshonean

^tribes, basketry hats

were worn

only by

women,

serving the double purpose of protecting the head

from

carrying straps attached to burdens

and from

pitch

when

gathering pine nuts.

Conical baskets.

— These

are large, conical baskets used by

women

both for gathering seeds

and

for carrying burdens. Powell^G states that for gathering seeds, "they have large, conical baskets, which hold

two

or

more

bushels.

The women

carry

them on

their backs, suspended

from

^their foreheads by broad straps,

and

with a smaller

5Op. cit.,p. 127.

8

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98

one in the left hand, and a willow

woven

fan in the right [the seed beater], they

walk among

the grasses,

and sweep

the seed into the smaller basket,

which

is emptied,

now and

then, into the larger, until

it is full of seeds

and

chaff

..."

Conical baskets, similarly used throughout the Intermontane area,

were

of vital importance in native

economy.

All the specimens illustrated in the photographs are twined with the exception of the

Kaibab

specimens, plate 11.

Whether

they

were

tightly or loosely

woven depended upon

the size of the seed to be gathered.

Open-twine

baskets, having a slight space between the weft elements,

were more

quickly

made

^thanthose

^which were

tightly

woven and were

equally serviceable for holding large seeds such as pinyon nuts.

The

photographs

show

a

Moapa

Paiuteopen-twinebasket (pi. 1,c), a

Kaibab

basket in the process of

manufacture

(pi. 9, a), several close-twine

Kaibab

specimens (the edge

showing

in pi. 13, a;

two

in the foreground of pi. 13, b;

two

specimens beingcarried in pi. 16, b),

and

a St.

George

open-twine specimen (pi. 20, a).

Seed

beater.

— ^Only

^one

^example

^of a seed beater is illustrated. It isthe

Kaibab

specimen,

shown on

the house in plate_9, a. It is open- twine

and

has the service edge reinforced with a

wooden

rim.

Winnowing

or parching trays.

— ^{As most}

of the seeds available in Southern Paiute territory are small

and

hard-shelled, a special tech- nique

was

required to separate the seeds

from

the chaff and, after the seeds

were

ground, to

remove

the coarse particles.

For

thispur- pose, a flat fan-shaped or circular tray

was

constructed.

But

^it also served another purpose.

Having

little pottery in

which

to boil seeds

and no

doubt finding it too difficult to boil

them

in water in tight baskets into

which

hot rocks

were

dropped, they generally roasted them. Powell⁶ observed, "they put the seeds, with a quantity of red hot coals, into a willow tray, and,

by

rapidly

and

dexterously shaking

and

tossing them, keep the coals aglow,

and

the seeds

and

tray

from

burning.

As

^if

by

magic, so skilled are the crones in this work, they

roll the seeds to one side of the tray, as they are roasted,

and

the coals to the other."

Three

specimens of twined

winnowing

or parching trays are illus- trated.

Whereas

such trays are usually fan-shaped

among

Shoshoni

and Northern

Paiute, one of the

Kaibab

specimens (pi. 16, b) is circular.

The

shape of the other,

which was

placed so as to catch the meal

ground on

ametate (pi. 13, a),cannot beascertained. Itappears to be fan-shaped.

"Op. cit.,p. 127.

NO. l8

HILLERS-POWELL INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHS — ^STEWARD ₉

Of

the five, flat, circular, coiled

Kaibab

trays (pis. 10, b,

n,

12.

13, a, 16, b), ^it is probable that

some

are

winnowing

trays, especially that

shown

in plate 11.

Ollas or water jugs.

— ^{Some means}

of carrying water

was

an abso- lute necessity

on

the long trips through the deserts. Tightly-

woven,

pitch-coated ollas or jugssolved the

problem

quite adequately.

Whereas

Shoshoni and

Northern

Paiute ollas are twined

and

generally have bottoms

which

taper to a point,

Ute and

Southern Paiute specimens are predominantly coiled

and

spherical in shape, like thoseof the early Basket Makers.

The

photographs

show

several specimens

among

the

Kaibab

(pis. 11, 12, 9, a, b, 13, b, 16,a)

and

the

Ute

(pi. 26, b, with the handles) all of

which

appear to be coiled.

The

necks of these baskets are

somewhat

wider than those of the Shoshoni

and Northern

Paiute, for example, plate _9, a.

The

neck in plate_{9, b,} is even flaring.

Receptacles.

—

^{Pottery has been recorded}

^among

^{both Southern}

Paiute

and

Shoshoni Indians. It seems, however, to have been of

minor

importance

and no

specimens appear in the photographs.

For

general purposes requiring receptacles

and

even for boiling water, basketry bowls

were

used.

Several

Kaibab and Ute

coiled basketry bowls are illustrated.

The Kaibab

examples (pis. 9, a, 10, b, 11, 12) rangein

form from

exceed- ingly shallowcontainers, approximating trays, tonearly hemispherical bowls. Plate 12

shows

a

woman weaving

a coiled bowl.

The Ute

bowls (pi. 26, and,

hanging from

thetree, pi. 23, a) arevery crudely woven,

narrow-mouthed, and

deep.

WEAPONS

Bows. — ^Although

^{the evidence of these} photographs is insufficient to postulate important local differences in

bow

types, several styles appear to have been restricted to certain groups.

Two Moapa bows

in plate 1, b, are notable for their great length, though a shorter

Moapa bow

appears in plate 2, a, b.

None

of these have recurved ends.

Bows

with recurved ends are

shown

only

among

the

Las Vegas

(pis. 5, a, b, 4, a, 6, b)^.

That

in the left foreground of plate _{4, a,} is clearly sinew-backed.

The bow

of extraordinary width in plate 5, c,

appears to be

made

of

two

pieces, joined at thegrip,

and

is probably of

mountain

sheep horn,

which was

widely used for

bows among

these people.

The Kaibab bows

are comparatively short

and

lack the recurved ends (several hanging

on

the right side

and

in the center of the house

10

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98

in plate 10, b; one leaning against the house in plate 11 ; one by ^the child in plate 12; those in plates 17, a, b, 18, 19, a). Powell⁷ said of

Kaibab

bows,

"Most

of their

bows

are

made

of cedar, but the best are

made

of the horns of

mountain

sheep.

These

are taken, soaked

in water,until quite soft, cut intolongthin strips,

and

glued together,

and

are then quite elastic."

Quivers.

—

^{Quivers are} represented in several photographs,

some

of which, if correctly posed,

show

the

manner

of carrying them.

The

fur quiver of the

Moapa

(pi. i, b)

was

slung over the right shoulder

and

under the left arm, so that the

arrow had

to be pulled over the right shoulder.

The Moapa

fur quivers in plate 2, a, b,

were hung

across the chest, or,

more

accurately,

around

the neck with the openings to the right.

A

fur

Kaibab

quiver is

shown on

the

ground

in plate 22, c.

A ^Uintah Ute

quiver (pi. 29, a, b) has a

bow

case attached.

A

flap,

ornamented

with a striped border, symmetrical floral designs

and

metal studs, hangs

from

it.

Shooting.

— Though

posed, the

Las Vegas man

(pi. 5, a)

and

^the

Kaibab man

(pi. 18, a) probably hold their

bows

in accordance with native usage, for this slanting position

was common

throughout the area.

Clubs.

— A Moapa

club of the "potato

masher"

type, similar to that used by the Colorado River tribes, appearsin plate 2, c.

Knives.

—

^{Several hafted flint} knives are

shown

in the photographs.

Though

these cannot be studied in detail, even with the aid of a glass, all appear to be essentially the same.

A

chipped flint blade is fitted into the end of a short

wooden

handle,

which

is

wrapped

just below the blade.

Two

knives appear on the

ground

near the right

end

of the

bow

in the left foreground of the

Las Vegas

picture, plate 4, ^a. Several similar knives lie on the

ground

in the

Kaibab

photo- graph, plate 10, a.

The Kaibab man

in plate 9, b. is retouching the blade of a knife.

He

holds it on a

pad

^{in his} left

hand and works

with a flaker held in his right hand.

The

last photograph has also been reproduced and described in

Bureau

of

American

Ethnology Bulletin 60, figure 175

and

page

309

^ff.

Rodent

hook.

— ^Shoshonean

^tribes

^commonly

used long ^sticks with either

hooked

or slightly forked ends

which

they inserted into rodent

burrows and

twisted in the fur of theanimals so as to pull

them

out.

Each

of the

two

sticks held in the

hand

of the

Las Vegas man

in plate 5, c, is equipped with a short

hook

at one end

and may

have

7Op. cit., p. 128.

NO. l8

HILLERS-POWELL INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHS — ^STEWARD

^II

been intended for this purpose. Or, they

may

have been used to pull chuckwallas, a large species of lizard,

from

rock crevices.

Death

Valley Shoshoni

made

similar

hooked

sticks for this purpose.

FIRE MAKING

Fire

making

is illustrated

among

the

Kaibab

Paiute in plate 19, a,

though the pose of the

man

in the

background

is irrelevant to the

main

subject.

The

fire drill is

compound,

as

shown by

the

wrapping

near its lower end.

That

is, it consisted of a

main

shaft

and

a fore- shaft.

The

natureof thehearthcannot be ascertained.

The

fire

maker

twirls the drill

between

the palms of his

hands

while an assistant holds bark tinder in

which

to catch the spark.

METATES

Metates, or flat stone grinding slabs,

were

of crucial importance

in the preparation of the small, hard-shelled seeds of this country.

Powell⁸ observed of the Kaibab,

"For

a mill they use a large flat rock, lying on the ground,

and

another small cylindrical one in their hands.

They

sit prone

on

the ground, holdthe large flat rockbetween the feet

and

legs, then fill their laps with seeds,

making

a hopper to the mill with their

dusky

^legs,

and

grind

by

^pushing the seeds across the larger rock,

where

^it drops into a tray. I have seen a

group

of

women

grinding together, keeping time to a chant, or gossiping and chatting

..."

Two

quite unlike specimensof metates appearinthe

Kaibab

Paiute photographs, plates 10, b,

and

13. a.

The

first, though shallow, has a trough and kind of platform encircling the trough on all but one end

where

^it is open.

As

this is very similar to the metates used

by

the early Basket

Makers

of this region, it is not impossible that it

was

taken

from some

ancient site.

The

other specimen is

more

like the type

commonly

used by Shoshoneans, being flat

and

without

any

trough.

The woman

has placed it

between

her legs with a twined

winnowing

basket under the far end to catch the flour.

She

grinds with a thick

mano

or muller

which

evidently

was

used with something of a rotary motion.

CRADLES

Two

types of cradles are illustrated: the semibasketry type of the

Kaibab

and the buckskin-covered board (?) of the Ute.

8Op.cit.,p. 127.

12

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98

Powellⁿremarks of the

Kaibab

cradle,

"They make

a wickerboard, by plaiting willows,

and sew

a buckskin cloth to either edge,

and

this is fulled [sic] inthe middle, so as to

form

asack,closedat thebottom.

At

the top, they

make

a wicker shade . . . and,

wrapping

the little

one in a wildcat robe, place it in the basket,

and

this they carry

on

their backs, strapped overthe forehead

...

In

camp,

they stand the basket against the trunk of a tree or

hang

it to a limb."

The Kaibab

cradles appearing in plates 14, b, 15, a, b,

and

19, b,

appear to be related to the "U-ladder" type of the lower Colorado River.

But

whereas the latter has a stout rod bent into U-shape

and

covered with horizontal lattice work, the

Kaibab

^cradle has an oval

frame

covered with vertically placed rods

which

extend

beyond

the frame. Plate 15, a,

shows

such a cradle with the hood, infant's head pad,

and

carrying straps in place.

The Uintah Ute

cradle (pi. 24, b) is probably a board covered with buckskin. This type, derived

from

tribes to the north

and

east of the Intermontanearea, never spread

beyond

the

Ute and Northern

Shoshoni.

DRESS AND ADORNMENT

It is surprising to note the great

number

of photographs

showing

persons in full costume. Informants' testimony

and

early explorers' accountsare

unanimous

in ascribingextraordinary poverty

and

scanty attire to Southern Paiute Indians.

Even

Powell¹⁰ observes

"They wear

very little clothing, not needing

much

in this lovely climate."

One

gets the impression that the hunter

who was

able to acquire sufficient deer or antelope skin to tailor himself

and

his wife

com-

plete

garments was

exceptionally lucky. People

were

usually described as completely or nearlynude, or, at best, draped only in arabbit-skin blanket.

Yet

the photographs

show

a large

number

of

men

attired in shirts, breachclouts, leggings, moccasins,

and

sometimes skin hats,

and women

fullyclad with dresses, peplums,

and

moccasins.

Perhaps

the truth of the matter is that

most

persons possessed all essential garments but, like the old

men

in plate 1, b, they did not ordinarily

wear

them.

To what

extent they utilized their entire

wardrobes

or even

borrowed

clothing at the instigation of Powell

and

Hillers for the very special purpose of having their pictures taken is impossible to

know.

It is clear, however,that

many

of the subjects of thephoto- graphs

were

specially arranged. Individuals

were

sometimes taken,

9Op. cit., p. 127.

10Op. cit., p. 126.

NO. l8

HILLERS-POWELL INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHS — ^STEWARD

¹

3

in successive pictures, in various stages of dress

and

undress. Conse- quently, the ensemble cannot always be taken as native custom.

Children, though sometimes equipped with garments like those of their elders,

were

frequently entirely

nude

and are so represented in several pictures.

Headdress.

— The

hair of

Moapa, Las

Vegas,

and Kaibab

Paiute

women was

rather consistently cut to a short,

choppy bob

of about shoulder length.

Only

the

Las Vegas woman shown

in plate 6, a,

has bangs.

Women

sometimes confined their hair with a

narrow band

(pis. 9, b, 14, b, 18, b, c, d, 19, b), sometimes with a basketry hat.

The head

bands

worn by

the three girls seated

on

the left in plate 14,, b, appearto consist of

two rows

of beads (or quills?) each.

The

girl nexton therighthasa

band

of shellsorseeds. Similarbands appear in plate 18, b, c, d.

Southern Paiute

men

either cut their hair the

same

as

women

^or

allowed ^it to

grow somewhat

longer, parting it roughly in themiddle

or, occasionally (pi. I, a, pi. 10, b) on one side. Several

Kaibab men

clearly have braids: the person

on

the left in plate 19, a; the

man

with folded

arms

in plate 19, b', the

man

standing

on

the right in plate 17, b;

and

the

man

seated in the foreground in plate 17, ^a.

The

braids of the last are wrapped.

Other men may

have braids

which

do not show.

Five kinds of hair

ornaments

appear on Southern Paiute

men

:

bands; skullcaps^; feather

crowns

; feathers; a foreheadornament.

Bands,

which

are unusual, are

shown among

the

Moapa

(pi. 3, a), the

Las Vegas

(pi. 4, a, b),

and Kaibab

(pi. 7).

Skin caps,

which

are similar to those used widely throughout the

Shoshonean

area to the west, appear in several photographs.

The Moapa men

in plate 1, b,have skull caps held in place

by

chin straps.

The Moapa

boy's cap (pi. 2, d) appears to be similar to these but lacks the chin strap.

The Las Vegas man on

the left in plate _{4, a,} b,

has a head

band

rather than cap.

The man on

the right in plate _4, b, has acap

which

apparentlyhasanimalhorns

and

earsontop.

Although

the species of animal cannot be identified in this case, it resembles

many

Shoshoni caps

made

^{of the pollsof}

young mountain

sheep with the ears

and

hornsleft in place. This specimen alsohas a chin strap.

A

^{similar or perhaps the}

^same

^{hat appears on the}

^{Las Vegas man}

ⁱⁿ

plate 5, ^c.

A more

conical skull cap with chin strap is

shown

in plate 4, a (second

from

the left)

and

in plate _5, a.

No Kaibab

or

Ute men

have such caps.

Crowns,

consisting of

hawk

^or eagle feathers inserted in a head

band

^to stand vertically, are

shown

in several plates.

No

information

14

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98

is available concerning the use of this headgear, but its frequency in the pictures is

no

proof that it

was

an article of everyday wear, especially as most of the groups are obviously dressed

and

posed for the photographs.

Among Owens

Valley Paiute in California, this type of headdress

was

used onlyas dance regalia.

A Moapa example

appears in plate 2, b.

Kaibab

examples are

shown

in plates 8, 14, a,

17, 18,a, c,and 19, b. Plate 20,c,

shows

a St.

George

specimen.

A number

of feathers are

shown

attached loosely to the

crown

of the hairin

two Las Vegas

photographs _{(pis. 4,} (7, 5. b).

A

forehead ornament, evidently attached to

some

kind of

band

running

up

the part of the hair, is

shown

in

two

St.

George

pictures (pis. 20,a, 22, b).

Attention should be called to the striking beards on several

Las Vegas men

inplates _4, 5, c,

and

6,a.

When

Escalante reachedwestern Utah, probably in the vicinity of

Utah Lake

near the

boundary

line between

Ute and

Southern Paiute, on his return journey in 1776, he

remarked

that the Indians

had

Spanish features (not evident here)

and wore

beards.

Uintah

Ute

headdress

and

coiffureis not unlikethatof the Southern Paiute.

Some Ute women,

however,

wore

their hair

somewhat

longer (pis. 28, c, 27, c).

At

least

two men

have braids (pis. zy, b, 29, c)

,

while the

boy

in plate 31, d, appears to have a small lock on each side of his head stuck through a section of bone.

The

men's forehead

ornament

appears in plate 31, ^{b, c.}

Wrapped

locks are

shown

in plates 26, a,29,^c,

and

31, ^b,c. Plates 26,a,27, ^b,

and

29,c,also

show

the forelock brushed

up and

back in Plains fashion.

Men's

shirts.

— A common

style of men's shirts seems to have pre- vailed

among

these groups.

The

illustrations do not reveal whether

it

was

constructed of one or

two

skins.

A

characteristic feature is

what

appears to be a heavily fringed, V-shaped insert on the front but which, judging

from

specimens in Powell's collection in the United States National

Museum,

is

more

likely a flap. This appears

among

the

Moapa

(pi. 2, a, b, c),the

Las Vegas

(pi. 6, b),the

Kaibab

(pis. 11, 18 c, 19, a, b),

and

the St.

George

Paiute (pis. 20, 22, a, c)

and

also

among

the

Uintah Ute

(pis. 28, a, 29, ^a, c)

.

Though

fringed sleeves

seem

usually to have been

added

to these shirts, a portion of the shirt proper projects slightly as a shoulder flapandisheavily fringed.

Long,

fringed sleeves appear, forexample,

among

the

Moapa

(pi. 3, a), the

Kaibab

(pis. 18, a, c, 19, a, c), the St.

George

(pi. 20, ^b, c),

and

the

Ute

(pis. 28, a, b, 29, a, 31, d).

The

bottoms of these shirts

may

or

may

not be fringed.

NO. l8

HILLERS-POWELL INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHS — ^STEWARD

¹

5

Some

men's shirts

seem

to have been constructed of one piece of skin, like a poncho.

No

doubt whether one or

two

pieces

were

used

depended upon

the size of the skins available.

The Kaibab

shirt on the

man

in plate 9, b,

and on

the

man

kneeling on the left in plate 19, a, appear to be one-piece.

The Ute

shirt in plate 27, ^{b, is} probably the same,

though

evidently

made

of cloth.

The Las Vegas

shirt (pi. _5, b) seems tobe

poncho

stylebuthas a heavy fringe across the chest. Several boys' shirts are evidently one-piece, having a perforation for the head

and

theedges brought ^together

and

fastened below the arms, with all edges fringed: the

Moapa

(pi. 2, d),

Las Vegas

(pi. 5, a)

and Kaibab

(pi. 14, a).

A

^shirt constructed like a jacket with the front

open

is

shown on

the

man

seated in the middle foreground of the

Kaibab

photograph, plate 17, ^a.

In addition to heavy fringe,

some

men's shirts have ornamental designs.

The most

popular style

was

a

band

of geometric figures running

from

the back across each shoulder

and down

the chest

and

a similar

band

running

down

the outside of each sleeve.

The

designs are geometric, usually simple

bands

of squares

and

rectangles.

So

far as can beseen, these are probably

made

of beads.

Such ornamen-

tation appears

among

the

Kaibab on

a

man who

is

shown

in plate 1₁

,

plate 17, b, and, shooting a bow, in plate 18, a. It also is seen

among

theUte, plate 27, b.

Breechcloiits.

— Men wore

comparatively long breechclouts.

These

areillustrated

among

the

Moapa

(pi. 1, b), the

Las Vegas

(pi. 4, b),

and

the

Uintah Ute

(pis. 26, a, 27, ^a, b, 29, ^b, 31, ^b, and, appearing

under

theshirt,in 29,a)

.

Men's

leggings.

— ^Men's

^{leggings are}

^{shown among}

^{all groups.}

Usuallythese are fringed

down

the outside of the leg alongthe seam, forexample, the

Moapa

(pi. 2, a, b, d), the

Las Vegas

(pi. 6, b), the

Kaibab

^{(pis. 8,} 17, ^a, b, 18, a, c, 19, b), the St.

George

(pis. 20, b, c, 22, a, c, d)

and

the

Ute

(pis. 27, ^b, 28, a, 29, a).

The

^{leggings in}

plate 19, b, are also fringed on the bottom.

Those

in plate 17, a, also have a painted (?) design of

diamonds

near the bottom

and

^{those in}

plate 18, c,have beadeddesigns

down

the outside of theleg.

A few

leggings have the fringe

down

the front of the leg, e.g., the

Kaibab boy

(pi. 14, a).

War

costume.

— ^{The Uintah Ute}

photograph, plate 26, a, judging

from

its title,

"The

Warrior,"

and

its general appearance, probably represents

war

costume.

The man

is

naked

but for the chest orna- ment,

which

is probablyof

manufactured

bone brought tothese people by the traders, the cartridge belt, breechclout,

and

anklet.

His

fore-

l6

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98

lock is brushed back

and

painted

and

his

body

^is painted alight color with darker stripes running horizontally

around

his

arms and

verti- cally on his legs.

Woman's

dress.

—

^{It is impossible to ascertain detailed} construction of

women's

attire

from

the photographs.

The

Southern Paiute gar- ments, however,

seem

usually to have consisted of

two

essential parts

—

^{the dress proper}

and

a fringed overskirt or peplum.

From

the

somewhat

artificial ensembles

shown

in the poses, it is

not certain

whether

the

peplum was

ever

worn

alone (though it is

so

shown

in pi. 5, d)

and

might thus be considered a true skirt.

Rather, it seems primarily to have filled the function of a belt. It consists of a comparatively

narrow

girdle, 2 to

6

^inches wide,

from which

falls a fringe 1 to 2 feet long. It serves to gather in the dress about the waist

and

to provide ornamental fringe,

which was

abun- dantly used on all garments. Often, hooves

were

tied

amongst

the fringe strings.

Examples

are

shown from

the

Moapa

(pi. 3, b), the Las

Vegas

(pis. 5, d, 6, b, ^c, d), the

Kaibab

(pis. 14, b, 18, b, c, d),

and

the St.

George

(pi. 22,a, d).

The

^dress proper appearsusually to have been

made

of

two

pieces.

Judging

by

museum

specimens as well as

by

the photographs,

some were

merely fastened atthe shoulders, the sidesbeing left

open

below the

arms and somewhat

held together by the peplum,

whereas

others

were sewed

together

down

the sides below the arms.

These

dresses lack true sleeves

and

have instead fringed shoulder flaps, e.g., the.

Kaibab woman

^{in plate} 14, b.

The

sides of the dress

were

usually also fringed, asinplate 18, b,c,d. Plate 18, b,has, inaddition,hooves tied to the fringes on both sides

and

bottom.

Several dresses are further ornamented.

The Kaibab woman

in plates 15, a, b,

and

16, a, b, has a thin beaded _(?)

band

running

up

the sleeve,

around

the neck,

and

across the chest.

One

of the dresses inplate 14, b,has parallel bands acrossthe chest.

The Ute

dresses

seem

to have followed

more

strictly the Plains pattern, probably being

made

of

two

skins, one in front

and

one behind,

sewed down

the sides. Flaps coverthe shoulders

and

^fringing

is abundant.

These

dresses are variously ornamented, several having parallel bands

which

run

from

one shoulder flap across the chest to theother (pis. 28, c,d,29, c). Plate_27, c,

shows

a single

band

ofthis kind. In addition to the bands, plate 28, c, has a floral design

on

the skirt near the lower portion of the fringed seam.

The bottom

of plate 28, c, has a fringe, 28, d, an ornamental band,

and

plate 27, c,

both fringe

and

band. Several have elk teeth, for example, that in plate 24,a, on

which

they are arranged in four horizontal

rows

^across

NO. l8

HILLERS-POWELL INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHS — ^STEWARD

^T/

the back,

and

plate 27, ^c, on

which

they are placed below the orna- mental chest band.

Moccasins.

— Many

adults,

though

completely dressed, are

shown

barefoot. Others

wear

moccasins.

The

moccasins collected by Powell

were

described

by Gudmund

Hatt,

"Moccasins and

their Relation to Arctic

Footwear" (Amer.

^Anthrop.

Assoc, Mem.

3, no. _3, 1916).

Kaibab

moccasins for both sexes

seem

to

have had

separate soles,

molded

to the foot like the Southwestern types (pis. 17, b, 18, b, 19, b).

The

St.

George

moccasins (pi. 20, c) are similar.

The woman's

moccasin in plate 18, b, has a high, fringed top, theedge of

which

^is turned

down. The

top of the

Ute

moccasin in plate 30 resembles the last.

The Ute man

standing

on

the right in plate28, b, has geometricdesigns

on

both the instep

and

uppersof his moccasins.

Of

particular interest are the garters supporting the uppers of the

Moapa

man's moccasins in plate 1, b.

Rabbit-skin blankets.-

—

-Blankets

made

by twining together twisted strips of rabbit fur

were an

essential article throughout the

Sho-

shonean area.

They

served both as robes

and

bedding.

They were worn

either instead of or over ordinary clothing.

Several are

shown among

the

Kaibab

^: the

woman

with the hat seated in plate 11;

two

persons in the

background

in plate 12; three persons seated in plate 13, b;

and

plate 7.

Though none

are

shown among

the

Uintah

Ute, the University of

Utah Museum

of

Anthro-

pology has specimens

from

this group.

TRANSPORTATION

Two

devices for transporting goods by

human

carriers are illus- trated: a net

wrapped

about the bundle in the lower left corner of the

Kaibab

photograph, plate 14, a,

and

the conical baskets

shown

in plate 16, b.

The

carrying strap

was

used

by Kaibab women

both as a

tump

^line overthehead, as

shown

with thewater jugs (pi. 16,a),and as a chest strap, as

shown

with the baskets (pi. 16, b).

PARFLECHE

The

parfleche is one of the

many

traits

which

the

Ute

acquired

from

the Plains tribes.

A

single specimen appears in the foreground of plate 24,a.

MAIZE

It is of interest that although ethnographic studies report that all

Southern Paiute

grew some

maize and that the

Ute

did not, the only

l8

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL.

98

specimens illustrated inthese photographs are

among

the Ute. Plates 24, ^b, 25,

and

26, b,

show

a large

number

of ears of various colored

and

variegated maize

hung up

to dry.

We

^{do not}

know,

of course, whether these

were grown by

the

Ute

or traded

from

the Southwest.

EAGLES

Eagles

were

takenby

most

if not

by

^all

Shoshonean

groups

and

kept captive, though not killed, for their feathers. Plate 2"/,a, b,

shows

an eagle, the propertyof a Uintah

Ute man,

tied tothelimbof atree.

DANCING

A

single dance is

known

to have been aboriginal throughout the entire

Shoshonean

area. This

was

the

round

dance or circle dance

which was performed

primarily for pleasure

whenever enough

people

were

present to hold ^it. It consisted simply of acircle of people

who

side-stepped or

hopped

to the

accompaniment

of singing. It is illus- trated

among

the

Kaibab

in

two

photographs, plates 7

and

8.

GAMES

Two games

are represented, both being widespread throughout the

Shoshonean

area.

The

^first,

shown

in plate _4, being played by four

Las Vegas men,

appears to be a variety of the "basket hiding

game,"

in

which

several sticksare arranged undera basket

by

one contestant, the other beingrequired toguess theirpositions. This

game

is usually similar to the

hand game

ⁱⁿ that half of the sticks are marked, half

unmarked.

In the photograph, the

man

on the

extreme

right has several sticks,

which

cannot be studied in detail, concealed under a

winnowing

basket.

His

opponent

on

the

extreme

left is indicating the position of the sticks by

means

of motions similar to those used

in the

hand

game.

A

^{bundle of twigs} appears

on

the

ground

to the left of each contestant

and

a third bundle is between them.

These

are probably counters

which were

forfeited for incorrect guesses.

The Kaibab

photograph in plate 10, a,

shows

the

hand game, which was

perhaps the

most

popular

gambling game

throughout the west.

The men on

the left with folded

arms

hold the sticks concealed in their hands.

The man

in the center on the right is guessing the posi- tionof thesticksby pointing.

The rows

oftwigs stuck intothe

ground

in front of each side are tallies.

When

one side has lost all these to the other side, it forfeits the stakes of the

game.

In this case, the stakes

seem

tohave beenthe beads

and

knives deposited

on

the

ground

in the foreground of thepicture.